1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates generally to an interior component for a motor vehicle which provides a structural surface. More specifically, the present invention relates to a load floor of a motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The progression of motor vehicles, such as, for example, sport utility vehicles and station wagons, have included a desire to make full use of the space for storage. One such example is the inclusion of additional storage compartments located in a lower surface of a cargo area of the motor vehicle. These storage compartments are concealed by a structural component such as, for example, a load floor, which must also provide structural integrity to support the mass of heavy objects being transported in the cargo area of the motor vehicle on top of the load floor.
Various attempts have been made to produce load floors that exhibit structural integrity while supporting objects having a heavy mass. Presently, removable load floors are produced from blow molding a polypropylene material, possibly glass filled, which is extremely heavy and not structurally sound. Alternatively, glass reinforced polyurethane has also been used. While glass-reinforced polyurethane is typically lighter than blow-molded polypropylene, it is extremely expensive and tends to flex under stress.
Attempts have been made to replace polypropylene and urethane materials with laminates that are a stiff board-like material having a foamed substrate layer sandwiched between facing layers. While these laminates have produced mass and cost savings, they have not always produced adequate structural integrity. This is believed in part to be due to the interface between the foamed substrate layer and the facing layers. Therefore, it would be desirable to produce a load floor providing adequate structural integrity while maintaining a low cost and a low mass.